Total welfare spending, by program typeTotal federal and state welfare spending has increased more than 16-fold since 1964. Even since the 1996 welfare reform replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, spending has increased by 76 percent and by more than 20 percent since 2008.

Heavy and binge drinking among adultsTwo in five young adults between 18 and 25 binge drink, and one in seven reports heavy alcohol use. Men are about three times as likely as women to engage in heavy alcohol use and twice as likely to binge drink.

Low birthweight, by raceSince 1981, the proportion of low-birthweight babies among all infants has increased by 20 percent. African American newborns are more likely to have low birthweight compared to other infants.

Percent of children with asthmaChildren living in single-mother homes or homes in which neither parent is present are twice as likely to have been diagnosed with or still have asthma compared to peers living with fathers only or married parents.

Teens cigarette smoking, by gradeFewer than one in two 12th graders has ever smoked a cigarette, compared to three in four 35 years ago, a drop of 46 percent. In the past two decades, the decline is the most dramatic among younger teens.

Teen alcohol use, by gradeThough teen alcohol use has decreased in the past two decades—especially among younger teens—it remains high. Currently, about seven in 10 high school seniors have ever used alcohol, and one-half have ever been drunk.

Recent teen alcohol use, by gradeWhile teen alcohol use has declined, today two in five high school seniors say they have recently used alcohol, and one in four reports having been drunk in the previous month.

Teen illicit drug use, by gradeIllicit drug use declined among 12th graders in the 1980s. In the early 1990s, drug use increased among younger and older teens, but it has generally declined in the past decade.

Teens who had a major depressive episodeOne in 10 adolescents age 16–17 experienced at least one major depressive episode in the past year. With a current rate of more than one in eight, teen girls are about three times more likely to experience depression than boys.

Per-pupil expendituresThe amount spent per pupil on education in the United States has increased by over 30 percent since the mid-1990s. Today the U.S. spends approximately $10,000 annually per K-12 student.

High school graduates among 17-year-oldsDuring the first half of the 20th century, the high-school graduation rate of 17-year-olds increased significantly. In the last 40 years, however, that rate has remained about the same. Today, just over three-quarters of 17-year-olds graduate from high school.

High school dropouts, by race and genderSince the early 1970s, the percentage of high school dropouts has declined by nearly 50 percent. The decline is the most dramatic among African Americans (over 60 percent) and among women (58 percent).

Percent of high-school graduatesNearly nine in 10 adults have a high school education, a significant increase of more than 75 percent since the mid-1960s, when nearly one in two adults was high school educated. The rise has been the most dramatic among African Americans.

Percent of female college studentsIn 1920, women comprised nearly one-half of all college students. While that figure dropped in the ensuing decades, it rose again beginning in the late 1940s. Since 1979, female college students have outnumbered their male peers.